The U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team will travel to Peru for a four-team international tournament from Sept. 1-13 in Arequipa. Head coach Thomas Rongen will bring 20 players, all professionals, to play against Paraguay on Sept. 6, Colombia on Sept. 8 and Peru on Sept. 10.
The roster includes eight players who were part of the team that lifted the Milk Cup trophy in Northern Ireland in July, including Gale Agbossoumonde, who wore the captain’s armband in the championship game and scored the winning goal. Agbossoumonde, who plays for S.C. Braga in Portugal, along with FC Porto’s Samir Badr and G.D. Estoril Praia’s Greg Garza are three players from Portugal who will be making the trip to Peru.
A pair of Hertha Berlin players – Anthony Brooks and Jerome Kiesewetter – will be joining Rongen’s team for the first time from Germany. Goalkeeper Cody Cropper from Ipswich Town in England rounds out the European contingent.
Seven players who play professionally in Mexico will be traveling to Peru, including cousins Moises and Emilio Orozco, who led Real So Cal to Development Academy Finals Week in July and now play for Tigres. Christian Flores (Club Tijuana), Victor Garza (Tigres) and Kevin Huezo (Pachuca) join Milk Cup veterans Ernest Nungaray (Monarcas Morelia) and Adrian Ruelas (Santos Laguna) on the roster.
Recently signed defender Bryan De La Fuente joins Chivas USA teammate Cesar Zamora as two of the five Major League Soccer Homegrown Players traveling to Peru. D.C. United’s Conor Shanosky, New York Red Bulls Juan Agudelo and the Houston Dynamo’s Francisco Navas Cobo are the others who moved from U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy into MLS.
The U.S. U-20 MNT is gearing up for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which will serve as FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifying, slated for early next year. The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be held in Colombia in the summer.
Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Samir Badr (F.C. Porto; Fairfax, Va.), Cody Cropper (Ipswich Town; Athens, Ga.)
DEFENDERS (7): Gale Agbossoumonde (S.C. Braga; Syracuse, N.Y.), Anthony Brooks (Hertha BSC; Berlin, Germany), Bryan De La Fuente (Chivas USA; Bell, Calif.), Christian Flores (Club Tijuana; El Cajon, Calif.), Greg Garza (G.D. Estoril Praia; Grapevine, Texas), Emilio Orozco (Tigres; Oxnard, Calif.), Korey Veeder (Crystal Palace Baltimore; St. Petersburg, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Victor Garza (Tigres; Edinburg, Texas), Kevin Huezo (C.F. Pachuca; Santa Ana, Calif.), Francisco Navas Cobo (Houston Dynamo; Richmond, Texas), Ernest Nungaray (Monarcas Morelia; National City, Calif.), Moises Orozco (Tigres; Oxnard, Calif.), Conor Shanosky (D.C. United; Sterling, Va.), Cesar Zamora (Chivas USA; Sylmar, Calif.)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls; Barnegat, N.Y.), Jerome Kiesewetter (Hertha BSC; Berlin, Germany), Adrian Ruelas (Santos Laguna; Fontana, Calif.), Omar Salgado (Portland Timbers; El Paso, Texas)
*U.S. U-20 MNT Set for Three International Games in Peru
